Chapter 22 - The Battle in the Hall



Summary: (Lea)

In this chapter, Odysseus starts to fight the suitors. He aimed and hit Antinous and he died first. The suitors gather around Odysseus and are all furious. They threaten him and tell him that he surely will die. Odysseus scolds them for all they have done concerning Penelope, the maids, and his household. Odysseus reveals himself to the suitors. Eurymachus talks to Odysseus and tells him that if he is really Odysseus, he has nothing to worry about because Antinous is dead. He explains that Antinous wanted to marry Penelope and take control of the thrown after killing Telemachus. Eurymachus says to save them because they are Odysseus' people. They will pay him back for what they have done. Odysseus gives the suitors a choice of fighting him or to run and see if they can get away alive. They all get ready for battle. Eurymachus started to fight Odysseus and threw him against the floor. Next, Amphinomous attacked Odysseus. Telemachus came and helped Odysseus out. Odysseus tells Telemachus to get more arms to defend themselves so he did. Odysseus started shooting all the suitors and they lay dead on the ground. Melanthius says he will get some armor from the storage room. He says that he thinks he knows where Telemachus and Odysseus have hidden them. He found and brought down armor for all the men. Odysseus saw this and started losing faith. Telemachus and him prevented them from taking anymore of the armor and started attacking him. Euemaeus also started to help them. Both the suitors and Odysseus and his side began to tire out and Athene showed up in the form of Mentor. Odysseus thought it was Athene and pleaded for help. The suitors tell Mentor not to help them threatening him. Athene questions Odysseus about his faith and hope because it seems that it is fading. She started to put strength and hope both into Telemachus and Odysseus. After this, she disguises herself as a swallow. The suitors tried to hit Odysseus but Athene made them miss each time. Telemachus and Odysseus killed many people with not that much effort. Then, the suitors became very frightened when Athene raised her aegis. They all tried to get away as fast as possible. Many of the men were brutally attacked and killed. Some of the men go up to Odyssues and beg for their lives telling him they did nothing wrong but Odysseus ignores them. However they spare one man, Phemius because Telemachus says he is innocent and he has always looked after him when he was young. Odysseus wants Eurycleia to come to him because he wants to know which women servants were loyal and those who were not. She tells him that there were twelve who misbehaved towards her and Penelope. The women who have misbehaved are told to go to Odysseus and help Telemachus take the dead bodies away. After this, they are ordered to go take the women near the courtyard and have them executed. They obeyed unwillingly. They start to cut up the body of Melanthius. They make a fire to purify the house and Odysseus wants Penelope to come there with her ladies in waiting. They all gave him a warm welcome embracing him after not seeing him for such a long time.






Major Themes (and where they are): (Eliza)

Homeric Hero, page 288, page 289
Justice, page 289
Development of Telemachus, page 290, page 294, page 297
Loyalty, page 292, page 294,page 296
Disguise, page 293 , page 294,







Locations Traveled (and mentioned): (Grace)

The battle is taken place at the Hall.

Pg. 288, When the suitors saw Antinous collapse, there was a commotion in the hall.
Pg.297, Telemachus goes to the woman's quarters to tell the Eurycleia his father is calling for her.
Pg.300, The old woman went off to the royal palace to tell the other women the news to tell them to come.





Study Guide Questions:

Who does Odysseus kill first? (Bella)
Antinous

What does Eurymachus argue when Odysseus tells them who he is? (Bella)

If he is he has already gotten justice because the man who is responsible for all of it (Antnous) is already dead.


What choice does Odysseus offer the men? (Bella)

Either face me or run, but if you run you probably won't escape alive.



What does Telemachus run off to do? (Bella)

Get armor and weapons and supplies



What does Melanthius do to help the suitors fight? (Jaime)

He goes to the storage room and gets the suitors shields and weapons.


What do the servants do to him in return? (Jaime)

They bind his hands and feet, throw him in the store room, strap him to a board, tie a rope around him and hoist him onto a pillar on the roof as torture.


Who does Athene disguise herself as to help out during the fight? (Jaime)

Mentor


What does she turn into after encouraging Odysseus? (Jaime)

A swallow (a type of bird)



Who does Telemachus want to spare? (Sarah)
The minstrel Phemius is at Odysseus's knees begging him to spare him. So, Telemachus tells his father to spare the innocent man. As well as him, he wants him to spare Medon the herald.

Why does Odysseus summon Eurycleia? (Sarah)
He wants her to tell him which maids have been disloyal to him so he can seal their fate.

What happens to the women servants who were not loyal to Odysseus? (Sarah)
They have to clean up and de-contaminate the room with all the dead and then go outside and get killed by the long swords.